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<title>Flicker hot and hovering by kimabutch (CWoodP)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166427">Flicker hot and hovering</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CWoodP/pseuds/kimabutch'>kimabutch (CWoodP)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Drabbles [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rusty Quill Gaming</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drabble, Electricity, Gen, Quadruple Drabble, set directly after the end of the episode, spoilers for RQG 167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:01:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CWoodP/pseuds/kimabutch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cel meets the Vengeance.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom &amp; the Vengeance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Drabbles [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Flicker hot and hovering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cel gives up waking their friends. </p><p>They run out the cage’s door, the only surety in their mind that Zolf’s asleep, he has to be, and they have to find him. They’re careening through the corridors, desperately making their way above deck, when they round a corner and — </p><p>Familiar crackles of white-hot electricity in an unfamiliar place — a doorway far from any circuit, anything that could cause the lightning streaking back and forth across the doorway. Its currents, moving in rhythmic patterns unlike anything they’ve seen in decades of travel, are beautiful and strange and no — they need to find another way forward, they need to help Zolf, this is just wild magic and they can deal with it later — yet they stand there as if enthralled. </p><p>Almost unconsciously, Cel reaches with one hand towards the barrier, not knowing what they’re doing until the electricity shifts and, as if matching the alchemist’s movements, a single, delicate finger of lightning emerges, stretching towards them.</p><p>When they touch, there’s no pain. </p><p>No jolt of electricity to shoot them backwards.</p><p>No scars to add to their collection. </p><p>Just understanding — glorious, overwhelming understanding — as Cel’s consciousness unfolds, expands until it meets that of a waking beast. A creature of metal and wood and magic, more magic than Cel’s ever known, cold and inanimate yet alive as they’ve always known the whole world to be. The constancy of its steady course through the sky is matched only by the blossoming of dormant emotions from every atom of its being: pride, anger, fear, joy, and — more than anything, more than Cel can bear, more than the awakened Vengeance understands — love.</p><p>It loves Cel. </p><p>It wants them to be okay. </p><p>It cannot speak words to say it cares, cannot envelop them in a hug, cannot cry in sympathy for the panic Cel felt just moments ago. But it has seen its engineer laugh in joy at the electricity running through its core, has felt the thump of their feet as they jump in excitement when the currents flow, and now, with groggy, clumsy gentleness, it offers its lightning to them.</p><p>A blink and Cel stands alone before an empty doorway, arm outstretched, eyes heavy with unfallen tears. Their hand lands on the frame, half to balance their shaking body, half to feel the solid wood against their skin.</p><p>“Thank you, buddy.”</p><p>Under their feet, the Vengeance creaks.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to ohallows for beta reading and butchlesbianartemis for leading me on the The Vengeance Is Alive And Loves Cel Particularly train! </p><p>Title's from I Miss That Feeling by Tennis. </p><p>Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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